SpaceX

Starlink 6-43 rising into the Florida sky on March 10, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station earlier this evening, kicking off what could prove to be quite a week for the company.

Falcon 9’s flame plume tonight.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

Liftoff was at 7:05 PM EDT, with the rocket taking a southeasterly direction into late afternoon skies. Around eight and one-half minutes after liftoff, B1077, the booster used for the mission, touched down safely on ASDS Just Read The Instructions, while the second stage continued to orbit, where it delivered another 23 satellites for the Starlink network.

Falcon 9’s second stage ignites a few minutes into Starlink 6-43’s ascent to orbit this evening.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

Booster B1077 will return to Port Canaveral, after which it will be taken to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, where it will be inspected, refurbished at prepared for its next flight.

SpaceX Booster B1077
FlightMissionDate
1Crew-510/15/2023
2GPS III SV0601/18/2023
3 Inmarsat-6 F202/18/2023
4Starlink Group 5-1003/29/2023
5Dragon CRS-2 SpX-2806/05/2023
6Galaxy 3708/03/2023
7Starlink Group 6-1309/01/2023
8Starlink Group 6-2510/30/2023
9Starlink Group 6-3312/07/2023
10Northrup Grumman NG-2001/30/2024
11Starlink Group 6-4303/10/2024
Booster 1077 flight record
A formation high in the sky: from left, Booster B1077 falling away from Falcon 9, two fairings, the second stage continuing to orbit.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

That’s just the first part of SpaceX’s week to come. They are planning to loft more satellites to orbit later tonight from California’s Vandenberg Air Force base when they launch the Starlink 7-17 mission.

A Busy Week Ahead For SpaceX

Several hours after the scheduled Vandenberg launch, Crew-7 and its four astronauts are scheduled to board their Crew Dragon capsule “Endurance” and depart the International Space Station at 11:05 AM EDT Monday morning. Splashdown for the crew is slated to happen off the Florida Coast at 5:35 AM EDT Tuesday.

Wednesday evening, the company plans to launch another batch of Starlink satellites, this time from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center here in Florida on the Starlink 6-44 mission.

Amidst all that activity, SpaceX has also announced that it is planning for the third test flight of its Starship Heavy rocket from Texas. They are currently awaiting a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration for that launch, but at this point in time, that permit seems to be forthcoming, as the FAA has included Starship in its weekly planning document that it issues to aviators.

That’s quite the week for a country, much less a single company.

Read more

Booster B1077 prior to its last launch, North Grumman NG-20
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX plans to launch the Starlink 6-43 mission Sunday, March 10 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

The payload will be another tranche of 23 Starlink satellites that will be ferried low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. According to the company, “liftoff is targeted for 7:05 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 11:03 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Monday, March 11 starting at 6:40 p.m. ET.”

Weather

At this time, the 45th Weather Squadron has not released a Probability of Violation forecast for the launch.

The National Weather Service’s general forecast for the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Skid Strip calls for “Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. North northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.“

Trajectory

Southeast, as has been customary for Group 6 Starlink payloads.

Booster

Booster B1077 will be making its eleventh flight.

B1077 was first used for the Crew-5 mission. Its last mission was the NG-20 for Northrup Grumman on January 30, 2024.

FlightMissionDate
1Crew-510/15/2023
2GPS III SV0601/18/2023
3 Inmarsat-6 F202/18/2023
4Starlink Group 5-1003/29/2023
5Dragon CRS-2 SpX-2806/05/2023
6Galaxy 3708/03/2023
7Starlink Group 6-1309/01/2023
8Starlink Group 6-2510/30/2023
9Starlink Group 6-3312/07/2023
10Northrup Grumman NG-2001/30/2024
Booster 1077 flight record

Online Viewing

A live webcast of this mission will begin on SpaceX’s X account feed about five minutes prior to liftoff. 
Watch live on X.

SpaceX’s official web page has links to live coverage as well as up-to-date planned launch times. Starlink 6-43 Mission Page.

Spaceflight Now will begin its live launch feed one hour prior to liftoff.
SFN on Youtube.

Launch Viewing: In Person

Tomorrow’s launch is from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are at either the Banana River Bridge on FL-528 W near Port Canaveral, or the southern parks on US-1 / S. Washington Avenue in Titusville.

The ascending rocket will also be visible on the beaches after liftoff when Falcon 9 clears any obstructions.

If you plan to attend in person, don’t forget mosquito spray. You’ll probably be glad you brought some.

Read more

Crew-8 lifts off aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour and a Falcon 9 on March 3, 3024

It’s often said that the third time is the charm. For Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, the third launch attempt was the one that lifted them off of Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center late Sunday evening.

Twice in previous days, adverse weather had forced mission managers to call off a launch attempt: first, on Friday due to high winds and rough seas beneath the planned ascent corridor. On Saturday, conditions hadn’t improved for a launch attempt, but by late Sunday they were acceptable and the Crew-8 liftoff and journey to the International Space Station was cleared to proceed. The reason for the weather aborts was simple, if a little counterintuitive to the average person: in the case of a launch abort, the crew would have into seas as high as 20 feet in the Atlantic.

Read more

A Falcon 9 lifts off from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
File photo by Charles Boyer / ToT

On the heels of the successful launch of Crew-8 from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center late last night, SpaceX is planning to get back to it quickly this evening when they launch the Starlink 6-41 mission from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window extends from 6:56 PM – 10:54 PM EST.

Weather for tonight’s launch looks good according to the 45th Weather Squadron: only a one-in-five chance of a weather-related delay, meaning that there is an 80% chance of acceptable weather conditions throughout the launch window. According to them, the primary concerns are the “Cumulus Cloud Rule and the Anvil Cloud Rules.”

Trajectory

A southeasern trajectory is expected, with a booster landing in the Atlantic Ocean just east of the Bahamas.

Booster

SpaceX has not announced which booster will be used for this flight at the time of this writing. When that information becomes available, we will add it here.

Landing

Landing will occur on ASDS (Automated Spaceport Drone Ship) A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be stationed offshore and downrange. After Falcon 9’s booster lands safely aboard the vessel, it will return to Port Canaveral and then to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and presumably refurbishment and preparation for its next flight.

Launch Viewing: Online

SpaceX generally provides live launch coverage starting fifteen minutes prior to launch on their account on the X platform. Click here

Spaceflight Now will provide launch coverage one hour prior to liftoff on their YouTube channel. Click here

Launch Viewing: In Person

Tomorrow’s launch is from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are at either the Banana River Bridge on FL-528 W near Port Canaveral, or the southern parks on US-1 / S. Washington Avenue in Titusville.

The ascending rocket will also be visible on the beaches after liftoff when Falcon 9 clears any obstructions.

Read more

SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off of LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center at 10:53 PM EST on March 3, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

It’s often said that the third time is the charm. For Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, the third launch attempt was the one that lifted them off of Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center late Sunday evening.

A few hours before liftoff, the astronauts of Crew-8 greeted friends and family as they left from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on their way to the launch pad.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

Twice in previous days, adverse weather had forced mission managers to call off a launch attempt: first, on Friday due to high winds and rough seas beneath the planned ascent corridor. On Saturday, conditions hadn’t improved for a launch attempt, but by late Sunday they were acceptable and the Crew-8 liftoff and journey to the International Space Station was cleared to proceed. The reason for the weather aborts was simple, if a little counterintuitive to the average person: in the case of a launch abort, the crew would have into seas as high as 20 feet in the Atlantic.

Late Countdown Concerns

After a seemingly uneventful countdown that allowed the astronauts and ground crew to get ahead of schedule, late concerns were raised about a crack in the hatch seal of Crew Dragon Endeavour that was discovered after it was sealed. According to SpaceX and NASA commentators, there were concerns that the crack could cause an atmospheric leak during re-entry, which of course would be unacceptable and potentially cause a scrub to facilitate repairs.

With Falcon 9 being loaded with propellants and the countdown clock inexorably ticking down to zero, engineers responsible for this aspect of the spacecraft were consulted, and with ten minutes left in the count, the astronauts were informed by ground control that the crack was too small to pose a threat. Engineers also stated that the crack would seal itself during re-entry heating, was on the “side” of Crew Dragon as it was re-entering, and would not be a problem. The countdown was cleared to continue.

Liftoff at 10:53 PM

An “Aurora” after stage separation during Crew-8’s ascent on March 3. 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

A brand-new booster to the Falcon 9 fleet, B1083, fired up at 10:53 PM EST, sending the crew to orbit and ultimately to the International Space Station. Endeavour will dock autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module about 3 a.m. Tuesday, March 5.

After staging, the return booster put on an incredible display over the Florida coastline, first, as it began its RTLS (Return To Launch Site) maneuvers then later during its re-entry burn — all of which was visible to spectators from near the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. Some eight and a half minutes after liftoff, Booster B1083 concluded its first mission with a pair of sonic booms after it touched down, followed by the roar of the landing burn.

On to Station

Crew-8 will now catch up with the International Space Station, and autonomous dock is planned for the forward port of the station’s Harmony module about 3 a.m. Tuesday, March 5. After settling in to ISS, Crew-8 will begin a six month assignment on Station to begin a slate of more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.

Read more

Falcon 9 Booster B1076 lifts off of SLC-40 on February 29, 2024 to start the Starlink 6-40 mission.

While Crew-8’s Falcon 9 sits on Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center this morning waiting for weather to improve along its launch corridor, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying 23 more Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites to low-Earth orbit from its other launch pad on the Eastern Range at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Liftoff at 10:30 AM EST under almost-overcast skies, with the rocket completely disappearing 10-15 seconds after liftoff when it entered the cloud deck and rose towards orbit. About 8.5 minutes later, Booster B1076 completed its 12th mission and landed safely offshore on the company’s autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) Just Read The Instructions.

Read more

Falcon 9 Booster B1069 in flight with Starlink 6-39 on February 25, 2024

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 today from Pad SLC-40 and sent another twenty-four Starlink satellites to orbit. Liftoff occurred at 5:06 PM EST on what might best be described as a “travel brochure day” — crystal clear skies, with a light breeze and temperatures in the high 60s. In other words, the sort of winter day in Florida draws many tourists because the weather is darn near perfect.

Read more

Space Falcon 9 rises off of SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly after 10:30 AM EST on February 29, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

While Crew-8’s Falcon 9 sits on Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center this morning waiting for weather to improve along its launch corridor, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying 23 more Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites to low-Earth orbit from its other launch pad on the Eastern Range at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Liftoff at 10:30 AM EST under almost-overcast skies, with the rocket completely disappearing 10-15 seconds after liftoff when it entered the cloud deck and rose towards orbit. About 8.5 minutes later, Booster B1076 completed its 11th mission and landed safely offshore on the company’s autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) Just Read The Instructions.

JRTI will now head back to Port Canaveral and should arrive several days from now to offload the booster so it can be inspected and refurbished for another flight.

Today’s launch was the 13th of the year so far as February comes to a close. That’s a launch rate of one every 4.6-odd days on the average.

Next Launch

SpaceX and NASA hope to launch Crew-8 from pad LC-39A on Saturday, March 2nd from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. This launch was rescheduled from 12:04 AM EST March 1st, due to weather concerns along its flight path as it heads towards the International Space Station.

Read more

Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 from left to right, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; Michael Barratt, pilot; Matthew Dominick, commander; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist; are photographed inside the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a dress rehearsal on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in preparation for the Crew-8 mission. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 is the eighth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station and the ninth flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A is scheduled for 12:04 a.m. EST on Friday, March 1.
Crew-8 Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 from left to right, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; Michael Barratt, pilot; Matthew Dominick, commander; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist; are photographed inside the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Photo: SpaceX

NASA announced this morning that “due to unfavorable weather conditions forecast in offshore areas along the flight track, NASA and SpaceX now are targeting Saturday, March 2 at 11:15 p.m. EST for Crew-8 launch.”

Weather here on the Space Coast appears to be acceptable for a launch, and it appears that forecasters have scaled back their rain estimates for the area — down from 40% chances of precipitation overnight to as little as 15%. Unfortunately, the forecasts aren’t as good along the launch corridor, and in the unlikely case of a launch abort, the crew would be descending into unacceptable conditions.

Illustration of forecasted high-altitude winds in the launch corridor of Crew-8 tonight at 12 AM EST. While these are merely estimates, they do illustrate the conditions that the astronauts could face during an abort event. The trajectory of Falcon 9 towards ISS is the yellow line.
Forecast: Windy.com

NASA’s Manager of Commercial Crew, Steve Stich, outlined this in a press conference at Kennedy Space Center yesterday. “It’s one of the more complicated times during ascent relative to how we do abort weather,” he said. “We basically have a number of points all across the ascent ground track from the launch pad all the way to orbit insertion. And for each one of those points, we look at a weighted risk.”

 Stich also said that “At staging, we look at that location because if you think about all the events that have to happen at staging, when the first stage, the nine Merlin engines shut down, there’s separation and the MVAC engine has to start.”

Should that second stage engine fail to ignite properly, the crew would be in an abort mode and down into weather that NASA and SpaceX officials have deemed too risky to attempt a launch at the original planned liftoff time. Conditions are expected over to improve over the next couple of days as the frontal boundary pushes south.

Saturday’s Weather: Iffy.

Saturday may well end up as a repeat of today: weather will likely still be a concern, and a scrub may be necessitated according to today’s forecast by the US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron:

Read more

While weather here on the Space Coast looks as though it will have a 90% chance of acceptable launch conditions early Friday morning for a 12:04 AM EST launch of astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin to the International Space Station, NASA officials raised concerns that weather along the watch corridor may not be acceptable.

In a pre-flight press conference this morning at the Kennedy Space Center Press Site, Steve Stich, NASA’s Manager for the Commercial Crew Program said, “Launch weather looks really favorable for Friday morning’s early launch. I would say the abort weather is what we’re watching very carefully.”

45th Weather Squadron Forecast

The 45th Weather Squadron released their first launch forecast for Crew-8 at 12:00 PM EST today:

Steve Stich, NASA’s Manager for the Commercial Crew Program at today’s Crew-8 Press Conference.
via: NASA Livestream

Additional Stich Comments At Today’s Press Conference

“We have to have weather along the east coast ground track to be acceptable for launch,” Stich added. “That weather right now is not looking as favorable as we’d like. We’ll do another weather briefing tonight and then we’ll take a look at the weather again.”

He added later that the weather forecast is in the marginal column, but not yet in the zone that would necessitate a scrub out of an abundance of caution. “I would say it’s marginal right now based on the forecast,” Stich said. “We’ll go look at the weather tonight and make a decision. Do we push the launch 24 hours at that point, or do we take it down further? And that’s really going to be based on the weather models and the prediction of this trough. And then sometimes we’ll take it all the way down to the day of launch, and we just have to look at the data a little bit more.”

Why Is Launch Corridor Weather A Critical Concern?

In the relatively unlikely event of a launch abort, NASA and SpaceX want to ensure that conditions for an unplanned splashdown of the crew at sea are safe.

Stich illustrated this with some in-depth comments: “At staging, we look at that location because if you think about all the events that have to happen at staging, when the first stage, the nine Merlin engines shut down, there’s separation and the MVAC engine has to start.”

“It’s one of the more complicated times during ascent relative to how we do abort weather, we basically have a number of points all across the ascent ground track from the launch pad all the way to orbit insertion. And for each one of those points, we look at a weighted risk,” Stich said.

Should that second-stage engine ignition fail to occur, an abort would be necessary. Again, this unlikely, but bad weather is an unacceptable risk for astronauts descending from a far-from-nominal state in their spaceflight.

Not Scrubbed, Not Yet, Stay Tuned

To be clear, at the time of this writing, 1:00 PM EST on Wednesday, the mission has not been delayed. That decision will be made later, so stay tuned.

Read more